Yongki, a Sumatran elephant who worked with his handlers to patrol endangered habitats, was discovered dead on Friday, sparking a renewed global backlash against the practice of poaching endangered animals. The #RIPYongki hashtag has been trending on Twitter since the news broke, with condemnation coming in from around the world.

Yongki was special to the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Sumatra because he was a tame elephant who was able to work with humans and elephants. As The Washington Post reported, he was able to drive wild elephants back into the jungle to avoid potential conflicts between elephants and local farmers. He also worked with mahouts, or elephant riders, to patrol difficult terrain for farmers and illegal loggers who may have been encroaching on protected land.

The Yongki tragedy comes on the heels of the global uproar over the killing of a Zimbabwean lion named Cecil by American dentist Walter Palmer and this week's World Rhino Day, which was intended to create awareness about species decline.

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